Peyton Manning’s record-setting touchdown ball flew coach to the Hall

Peyton Manning’s record setting touchdown ball traveled to the Pro Football Hall of Fame on Monday, not via a special security guard or in a decorative box. It went to Canton in a plastic bag, underneath an airplane seat.

And it flew coach.

That’s right: The ball that was thrown by the Denver Broncos quarterback to set the all-time mark for most touchdown passes in a career didn’t receive first-class treatment. Upon arrival at the Hall of Fame, however, it will have far more prestigious accommodations.

The ball, which is now safely at the Hall of Fame and already on display, was secured via a long and rather detailed process to ensure that ensured the institution of getting the right piece of history. After Manning threw touchdown pass No. 509, surpassing Brett Favre’s former all-time mark, the plan was for the record-setting ball to get into the hands of the Broncos equipment manager who would then get it to Joe Horrigan, the vice president of communications and exhibits for the Hall.

Instead, several Broncos teammates staged a game of keep-away with the record-setting ball on the field, making a smiling and laughing Manning chase the ball around.

“The idea was that Peyton would bring it over to the sideline, the equipment man would retrieve it, then bring it to me,” Horrigan told Shutdown Corner. “When the record was broken, a circle of his teammates surrounded him then the cameras. Then they played ‘pickle in the middle,’ and when the ball was in the air, it made my heart palpitate.”

In conjunction with the Broncos, and with the full backing of Manning as well, Horrigan was on the Broncos sideline from the start of the game until the record-setting touchdown was thrown in the second quarter. He stayed near the end zone so he’d be in prime position to nab the ball when Manning finally connected on No. 509.

Joe Horrigan with No. 509 (Eric Lars Bakke/Denver Broncos)

Instead of the ball going straight from wide receiver Demaryius Thomas to the equipment manager and then to Horrigan, it instead made its way around the field and finally ended up on the Broncos bench as Manning embraced his teammates. From there the equipment manager labeled it quickly with a silver sharpie and then handed it off to Horrigan.

The scribble on the ball was a simple ‘RB’ — for ‘Record Ball.’ Short, concise and then into Horrigan’s hands.

From there, Horrigan put it in a Hall of Fame plastic bag for safe keeping. It was only out of his possession, he said, for Manning to pose for photos after the game in the Broncos locker room. Horrigan took a flight on Monday morning to get the ball to the Hall by that afternoon.

During his Monday morning flight from Denver to Charlotte, and then finally to Akron, Ohio, Horrigan kept the ball under his seat for sake keeping. He didn’t even eat or drink on the flights so as to safeguard the ball from possible spills or damage.

“I’ll just be reading a book,” Horrigan said before boarding the flight.

In all likelihood, the person sitting next to him didn’t have any idea just what was going on with Horrigan’s carry-on luggage, tucked underneath his seat.

“He or she won’t know,” Horrigan said. “They will have no idea what’s underneath my seat.”

Horrigan made it through airport security without anyone knowing or wondering why he was carrying a football in a plastic bag as his carry-on.

On Tuesday morning, Keith Rossell of Zionsville, Indiana. along with his twin sons, Owen and Elliott, and his father, Ted, were selected to place the ball officially on display. The boys were on fall break and were the first people in line at the Hall in the morning, earning them a chance to officially give the ball a new home.

Perhaps in this case, it is the destination — and not the journey — that matters most.